COMMONWEALTH BANK TROPHY 1997-2007

[Ian Harkin]

#1318316

PHOENIX SOAR TO THIRD TITLE
AAP
September 14 2002

The Melbourne Phoenix extended their season-long dominance over the Adelaide Thunderbirds last night to become national league champions. The Phoenix won an exciting grand final 49-44 at Melbourne’s Vodafone Arena to become the first side to win three premierships. The victory, before a crowd of 5,500, was the Phoenix’s fourth this season over Adelaide and condemned the Thunderbirds to three successive grand final losses.

It was the Phoenix’s second premiership in the past three seasons and a fitting result for a side that lost just one game and drew one for the season. Inspired by Australian national star Sharelle McMahon, the Phoenix surged to a 26-14 half-time lead, then held on in the second half after the Thunderbirds mounted a brilliant comeback.

Down by 13 early in the third quarter, the Thunderbirds reduced the margin to six by the last change and twice narrowed the gap to one goal in the last quarter. But McMahon, who starred in the second quarter with 10 goals, again stood up in the last quarter, sealing Melbourne’s win with nine goals for the term.

McMahon’s presence in the second quarter was symbolic of the Phoenix’s aggression and the Victorians rarely allowed the Thunderbirds an easy possession. Phoenix surged to a 33-20 lead shortly after half-time. But Adelaide persisted through the long shooting of Jacqui Delaney and, once the Thunderbirds found the right mix up forward, they fought back superbly.

Adelaide tried Carrie Worthley and Jacqui Roberts to partner Delaney, but only found the right combination with Anna Coldbeck, who scored 17 goals from as many attempts. Coldbeck’s influence helped narrow the lead twice to one goal in the last quarter, but the Phoenix finished off well to give Lisa Alexander a premiership in her first season as coach. Coldbeck had played only one quarter of netball this season and finished the year with a perfect shooting record of 24 goals from 24 shots.

[Ian Harkin]

#1318317

ALSO IN 2002…

Player behaviour and language became an issue in 2002. In round 5, Australian captain Kath Harby-Williams was sent from the court for dissent when simply saying “you’re kidding” after an umpire’s decision. Then in round 8, Ravens’ shooter Sharon Durbridge was seen on TV clearly swearing. This prompted a response from NA CEO Pam Smith.

.

HARBY-WILLIAMS SENT OFF AS THE T-BIRDS BEAT SYDNEY
AAP

Australian captain Kathryn Harby-Williams was sent off for back chat last night as her Adelaide Thunderbirds finally broke the Sydney Swifts 12-game winning streak. Harby-Williams found herself sent off the court for dissent in the dying minutes of the tightly fought match at the State Sports Centre, won 46-43 by Adelaide.

She had been warned in the third quarter and again in the fourth and was finally given her marching orders by umpire Stacey Campton after querying a call with “you’re kidding”. It is the third time a player has been sent off since the National Netball League began in 1997 and the first time for an Australian captain.

“It was certainly a passionate plea,” Harby-Williams said after the match. “I wasn’t being nasty at all to the umpire, it was an emotional and passionate game. I’ve seen a lot of dirty play in my time and it certainly wasn’t anything like that.” She conceded it was a lapse in her discipline and said she was disappointed.

Thunderbird’s coach Margaret Angove said she would discuss the matter with Harby-Williams and discipline her if necessary. The loss is the first for the defending champion Swifts this season, with Adelaide remaining undefeated after five rounds.

.

WASH YOUR MOUTHS OUT, ‘ROLE MODELS’ WARNED
NZPA

Netball Australia is getting tough on foul language after a premier player was caught using the f-word during a televised match. The sport’s governing body responded by banning swearing and reminding top players they were role models for young girls and risked disciplinary action if they were caught using obscene language.

Adelaide Ravens goal-shoot Sharon Durbridge was clearly shown mouthing “f… ” after a play in the Adelaide goal circle during a closely-fought match against the Melbourne Phoenix. After receiving complaints from people attending matches with young children, Netball Australia chief executive Pam Smith emailed leading players and officials, reminding them that swearing and sledging “will not be tolerated.”

But the stance has polarised opinion among players. Ravens captain Danielle Grant said it was “pathetic” that swearing had become a major issue. “This is just ridiculous – it happens in men’s sports,” she said. “It’s ridiculous our head of netball is focusing on that. There should be more concern about the financial situation of our league.”

Australian vice-captain Liz Ellis, a self-confessed “passionate” competitor, said swearing should not be condoned in netball because of the young crowd it attracted. “It’s not a huge issue, but I agree with the zero tolerance policy because at the end of the day most of our viewers are young women.”

[Ian Harkin]

#1318318

LEAGUE DUMPS RAVENS FOR AIS TEAM
The Age
August 27, 2002

The Adelaide Ravens were yesterday axed from the National Netball League competition to make way for an Australian Institute of Sport team. Netball Australia chief executive Pam Smith said the board had come to a decision at the weekend. “It’s a very difficult decision and we certainly have a great deal of sympathy for the people who will no longer be there,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be the best decision for netball, both in South Australia and in Netball Australia generally.”

Smith said there may be an opportunity to bring the Ravens back into the competition “down the track”, but also said it was unlikely with their current limited financial resources. “From our point of view, it’s a final decision,” Smith said. “(But) if either Mr Murdoch or Mr Packer (contributed), with the Commonwealth Bank . . . we’d have a lot more money in the competition and then I’m sure we’d have the opportunity.”

Ravens vice-captain Trudy Gardner was upset about yesterday’s announcement and said Netball Australia’s decision was made in haste. “They were after a quick-fix solution and they wanted the AIS in quick,” Gardner said. “I don’t think they thought hard about it. South Australia loses out, the players lose out and fans lose out. I’m sure all of my teammates are devastated. Most of the girls have got their ground roots in South Australia. It’s quite disappointing.”

The Ravens’ midcourter said she wanted to play on in the league but her options were now limited. “It’s a real reality check,” she said. “I feel I’ve got a little more to offer in netball.” Gardner said the competition would become more lopsided with the omission of the Ravens, as it would give the Thunderbirds a greater talent base. The Thunderbirds have played in every grand final since the league’s inception in 1997 – claiming the trophy twice. “They are going to have a massive group of players to pick from,” Gardner said.

Smith said the five state-based member organisations of Netball Australia had made submissions for the retention of their teams, and the Ravens were chosen for elimination for a number of reasons. “(Those reasons included) they came from a membership organisation that has the fifth-largest membership base. We looked at things like crowd support, we looked at things like on-court performances,” Smith said. “In the evaluation of all the submissions that came in, it was felt in the best interest of the competition . . . that South Australia will have a team in the competition, (but) . . . taking everything into account, not two teams.”

[Ian Harkin]

#1318319

In 2003, the new team entering the competition to replace the Adelaide Ravens, was the AIS Canberra Darters.

.

2003 COMMONWEALTH BANK TROPHY

Round 1
Thunderbirds 59 v Sandpipers 30
Kestrels 44 v Firebirds 52
Phoenix 57 v Orioles 38
Darters 35 v Swifts 60

Round 2
Firebirds 41 v Phoenix 56
Swifts 38 v Thunderbirds 43
Orioles 39 v Darters 43
Kestrels 53 v Sandpipers 46

Round 3
Thunderbirds 40 v Phoenix 44
Swifts 64 v Sandpipers 39
Kestrels 51 v Orioles 44
Darters 47 v Firebirds 41

Round 4
Orioles 29 v Swifts 43
Sandpipers 60 v Darters 39
Firebirds 40 v Thunderbirds 41
Phoenix 51 v Kestrels 41

Round 5
Sandpipers 54 v Firebirds 35
Swifts 51 v Phoenix 38
Darters 44 v Kestrels 54
Orioles 35 v Thunderbirds 63

Round 6
Thunderbirds 60 v Darters 36
Swifts 63 v Kestrels 35
Orioles 40 v Firebirds 52
Phoenix 57 v Sandpipers 39

Round 7
Darters 50 v Phoenix 70
Kestrels 40 v Thunderbirds 62
Firebirds 40 v Swifts 59
Sandpipers 48 v Orioles 35

Round 8
Sandpipers 42 v Swifts 55
Orioles 33 v Kestrels 59
Firebirds 51 v Darters 44
Phoenix 52 v Thunderbirds 36

Round 9
Thunderbirds 58 v Orioles 46
Firebirds 36 v Sandpipers 41
Kestrels 62 v Darters 41
Phoenix 53 v Swifts 46

Round 10
Thunderbirds 58 v Firebirds 43
Swifts 67 v Orioles 41
Darters 55 v Sandpipers 51
Kestrels 38 v Phoenix 46

Round 11
Thunderbirds 47 v Swifts 64
Sandpipers 48 v Kestrels 55
Darters 64 v Orioles 46
Phoenix 71 v Firebirds 29

Round 12
Swifts 47 v Darters 49
Sandpipers 33 v Thunderbirds 57
Orioles 38 v Phoenix 61
Firebirds 47 v Kestrels 54

Round 13
Darters 47 v Thunderbirds 63
Sandpipers 44 v Phoenix 58
Firebirds 39 v Orioles 51
Kestrels 48 v Swifts 40

Round 14
Swifts 78 v Firebirds 40
Thunderbirds 46 v Kestrels 49
Orioles 37 v Sandpipers 46
Phoenix 64 v Darters 28

.

LADDER

TEAM . . . . . P . . W . . L . . D . . . F . . . A . . . .+/- . . . . % . . . . Pts
PHOENIX .. 14 . .13 . . 1 . . 0 . . 778 . . 559 . .+219 . . 139.18 . . 26
SWIFTS .. .. 14 . .10 . . 4 . . 0 . . 775 . . 579 . .+196 . . 133.85 . . 20
T’BIRDS .. .. 14 . .10 . . 4 . . 0 . . 730 . . 597 . .+133 . . 122.28 . . 20
KESTRELS . 14 . .. 9 . . 5 . . 0 . . 683 . . 663 . . .+20 . . 103.02 . . 18
—
S’PIPERS … 14 . .. 5 . . 9 . . 0 . . 621 . . 695 . . . -74 . . . 89.35 . . 10
DARTERS .. 14 . .. 5 . . 9 . . 0 . . 622 . . 761 . . -139 . . . 81.73 . . 10
FIREBIRDS. 14 . .. 3 . 11 . . 0 . . 586 . . 738 . . -152 . . . 79.40 . . .6
ORIOLES … 14 . .. 1 . 13 . . 0 . . 552 . . 751 . . -199 . . . 73.50 . . .2

[Ian Harkin]

#1318320

MAJOR SEMI FINAL – PHOENIX v SWIFTS
State Netball Hockey Centre, Melbourne

SWIFTS WON 45-44
(12-15, 28-22, 34-32, 44-45)

PHOENIX:
GS . Southby
GA . McMahon
WA . Meaney
C .. Dick
WD . Chokljat
GD . Boniello
GK . Chatfield

Changes:
3rd Q – Jacobsen WA (Dick), Meaney to C.

Shooting:
McMahon 26/34 (76%)
Southby 18/22 (82%)
TOTAL 44/56 (79%)

SWIFTS:
GS . Cox
GA . Altschwager
WA . Anderson
C .. Barrett
WD . Gilsenan
GD . Broadbent
GK . Ellis

Changes:
Unknown

Shooting:
Cox 28/37 (76%)
Altschwager 17/25 (68%)
TOTAL 45/62 (73%)

Umpires: Stacey Campton, Deb Farrelly

[Ian Harkin]

#1318321

MINOR SEMI FINAL – THUNDERBIRDS v KESTRELS
ETSA Park, Adelaide

THUNDERBIRDS WON 51-46
(11-13, 24-23, 39-33, 51-46)

THUNDERBIRDS:
GS . Heinrich
GA . Delaney
WA . N.von Bertouch
C .. Sanders
WD . Scholz
GD . Harby-Williams
GK . Fellowes

Changes:
None

Shooting:
Delaney 28/35 (80%)
Heinrich 23/27 (85%)
TOTAL 51/62 (82%)

KESTRELS:
GS . Burton
GA . Neele
WA . O’Donnell
C .. Richardson
WD . van Rensberg
GD . Garbutt
GK . Ilitch

Changes:
4th Q – Booth GS (Burton).

Shooting:
Neele 29/38 (76%)
Burton 11/15 (73%)
Booth 6/7 (83%)
TOTAL 46/60 (77%)

Umpires: Sharon Kelly, Michelle Phippard

[Ian Harkin]

#1318322

PRELIMINARY FINAL – PHOENIX v THUNDERBIRDS
State Netball Hockey Centre, Melbourne

PHOENIX WON 59-43
(14-13, 30-24, 47-33 59-43)

PHOENIX:
GS . Southby
GA . McMahon
WA . Jacobsen
C .. Meaney
WD . Chokljat
GD . Boniello
GK . Chatfield

Changes:
3rd Q – Dick C (Jacobsen), Meaney to WA.

Shooting:
Southby 32/38 (84%)
McMahon 27/32 (84%)
TOTAL 59/70 (84%)

THUNDERBIRDS:
GS . Delaney
GA . Avellino
WA . N.von Bertouch
C .. Sanders
WD . Scholz
GD . Harby-Williams
GK . Fellowes

Changes:
3rd Q – Avellino to GS, Delaney to GA.

Shooting:
Delaney 27/36 (75%)
Avellino 16/25 (64%)
TOTAL 43/61 (70%)

Umpires: Sharon Kelly, Michelle Phippard

[Ian Harkin]

#1318323

BONIELLO SET FOR FINAL FLASH
Linda Pearce
The Sunday Age

Despite all her bad luck, a retiring Liz Boniello is grateful for the opportunities she’s had, writes Linda Pearce.

IN a drawer in Shepparton lies a scrapbook that chronicles a sporting life through more than a decade of media ink. The brilliant schoolgirl athlete. The junior Australian netball captain touted as a future senior leader. The long-term goal defence in the national team. Or so it seemed.

But then the tragedies, a series of them. Beyond the two serious knee injuries that ruined the first dreams of Commonwealth Games and world championships; and far more than the selection injustices that, four years later, buried both ambitions for all time. The accidental death of a sister, in 1997; of a father, last year, through illness; and, on the eve of her planned wedding day, of a fiance’s sister, who suffered a brain aneurism while buying flowers for the bride and groom.

Liz Boniello, formerly Taverner, has flicked through the cuttings, compiled and kept by her mother, and says that what she has read has “broken her heart”. The experience is made stranger still by the realisation that the person she is reading about is herself.

“It’s been a sort of surreal way of looking at my life, looking through the scrapbook and I suppose achieving so much,” said Boniello. “(Reading) articles of being in the Aussie team with some legends of the game that played during that era, and having the opportunity to be interviewed for the vice-captaincy and really being in just a fantastic position in my sporting career, and then all the downs that followed. The ups and downs.”

And now, in Friday’s national league grand final against the Swifts in Sydney, the end of it all. After 89 national league games for the Melbourne Phoenix, as a key member of at least three premiership teams, perhaps four. After 12 Tests for Australia, but never at a major championship. Aged 31, after one of her best individual seasons she is a wife whose next plan is to become a mother.

Boniello still loves the game as much as ever, and hates to think how she will feel when it’s over. Nor does she want a big send-off, or any fuss. Her impending retirement – “the r-word”, as coach Lisa Alexander calls it – has not been discussed openly by the Phoenix, although its coming is no secret. In this interview, the club’s popular co-captain was unusually reticent, having made a conscious decision to go quietly and fearing the distractions that may still intrude.

“My plans for next year just haven’t been spoken about within our team,” she said, carefully. Certainly the girls are aware of it, but I just haven’t wanted to make a big hoo-ha about it. A few years ago, (Thunderbird) Sarah Sutter was retiring for six months of that season, and it just went on forever, and I know even her teammates were laughing about it, saying, `Oh, Sutts, when are you going to retire?’ I just didn’t want to be in that position, or put that pressure and expectation on everyone else around me.”

Boniello prefers to talk about what lies further ahead, and recently had a quiet word with her friend and protege Bianca Chatfield, the national under-21 captain tipped to return to the senior team under new coach Norma Plummer. Boniello has already told Plummer how much she would like to be 25 again, starting over under her old mentor, and hopes fate is kinder to Chatfield, her so-called “little sister” in the defensive circle.

“I gave B a lecture the other day, saying, Now B, just don’t think you’re going to be in the Australian team for the next 10 years, just appreciate every single game when you get back in again because it doesn’t last forever’,” Boniello said. “Five or six years ago, I just thought I was going to be in the Australian team for the next five or six years and that didn’t work out the way I’d planned.”

Selection disappointments of the past two years have hurt immensely. So devastated was Boniello to miss the 2002 Commonwealth Games that it almost destroyed her season. She was more prepared to be overlooked for this year’s world titles and, while handling it far better the second time around, was scarcely less disappointed. “Last year, I really struggled confidence-wise and I suppose I never got back,” Boniello said. “I only ended up playing reasonable netball once the Commonwealth Games were finished, and of course during that time, my dad passed away as well.

“The past couple of years have been really difficult being a (national) squad member and wanting to go to that next level, and my two outstanding goals in netball were the Commonwealth Games and the world championships. But the time’s right to move on to other things. If I hung around next year, who’s to say I’d get selected under Norma? Anyway, it’s not what I want to do. There’s young players that they need to develop.”

Boniello is grateful for the opportunities she has had, and honoured to have represented her country, conscious that all she has missed has sharpened her appreciation for what she has had. Her game has also benefited, according to Alexander, for certainly Liz has had a lot of life-changing things that have happened to her and she has a lot of time to reflect on that, and as a person and player she’s grown so much”.

“She just gets out there and she knows that every game counts. She just wants to put everything into every game, and she prepares herself better than anybody.” This week, she will do so for one last time, before the focus shifts to the family she hopes to start with Tony, a former Canberra Cannons guard and her husband of almost three years. Coaching does not appeal, but Boniello may draw on what she calls her disappointments in life, and disappointments in selections”, to assume a player welfare role.

Which for now leaves one of the game’s most respected players, and one of its unluckiest, trying in vain to describe her own career in 50 words or less. “Ooooh, up and down, there’s three words,” she said. “I’ve given everything a go, I suppose. I’ve had some really great times and have such great memories and there’s been some real down-and-out times as well.

“When I look back, it brings a smile to my face, and the standout thing is the friendships that you make along the way and that you keep forever. For me, it just means so much. The good times that we had just override everything else that happens along the way.”

2003 GRAND FINAL
Sydney Swifts v Melbourne Phoenix
8pm on Friday, 12 September, at the SuperDome, Sydney
TV: ABC, Saturday, 13 September, 4-5pm (replay).

CROWD: More than 8000 tickets have been sold. The SuperDome capacity is 20,000 and organisers hope to trump the 10,000 at the 1991 world championship final between Australia and New Zealand.

[Ian Harkin]

#1318324

GRAND FINAL – SWIFTS v PHOENIX
Superdome, Sydney

PHOENIX WON 47-44
(14-12, 22-23, 31-37, 44-47)

SWIFTS:
GS . Cox
GA . Altschwager
WA . Anderson
C .. Barrett
WD . Gilsenan
GD . Broadbent
GK . Ellis

Changes:
Unknown

Shooting:
Cox 23/36 (64%)
Altschwager 21/27 (78%)
TOTAL 44/63 (70%)

PHOENIX:
GS . Southby
GA . McMahon
WA . Jacobsen
C .. Meaney
WD . Chokljat
GD . Boniello
GK . Chatfield

Changes:
3rd Q – Dick C (Jacobsen), Meaney to WA.

Shooting:
McMahon 32/40 (80%)
Southby 15/25 (60%)
TOTAL 47/65 (72%)

Umpires: Sharon Kelly, Michelle Phippard

Crowd: 10507

[Ian Harkin]

#1318325

COMPOSED PHOENIX RAIN ON SWIFTS PARADE
By Tim Dick
September 13, 2003

If you’d turned up two hours late to the national league grand final on Friday night, you would’ve known who had won without looking at the scoreboard. Only the Melbourne Phoenix were still around, like party gatecrashers who didn’t know when to go home.

They rained on the Sydney Swifts’ parade, retaining their championship title and securing their NNL dominance – four titles in their seven-year history. The record crowd for a domestic game – 10,507 – was outscreamed by a small but hardy bunch of Southern Men who donned purple hair and the purple playing uniforms of their Phoenix partners and friends.

In the end it was that band of merry men who got to cheer their team last during the presentation ceremony, knowing that the Melbourne Phoenix had made history by winning a grand final away from home – the first team to do so.

Wiping away tears after the game, victorious coach Lisa Alexander said “it’s a very emotional victory”, as co-captain Liz Boniello made her final game a winning one. Alexander wasn’t shy in praising the standard of the match, saying: “If people don’t want to watch netball, they’re bloody mad after that.”

She said it was one of the best games she had seen.

That probably wasn’t what Swifts shooter Catherine Cox was thinking, saying she was preparing to drown her sorrows but was already looking to next year.

In the post-match huddle, “Liz [Ellis] said to us, ‘just remember how bad this feels because we don’t want to be here again’.

“Look forward to next year. It’s the only thing you can do,” Cox said.

Going into the game, the Swifts had a double-barrelled advantage over the Phoenix, having beaten them nine times to six with one draw overall, but the major statistic against a Victorian win was that an away team had never won a grand final.

The Phoenix might have won half the six previous title-deciders they had played in but each was in front of a partisan Melbourne crowd. Last night, with a record-breaking crowd of 10,507 almost entirely against them, the Phoenix had to play a near-perfect game – and hope the Swifts returned to their late-season form slump – to become only the second team to successfully defend a championship title.

The SuperDome was an unhappy hunting ground for the Phoenix when they played the Swifts in May – also in front of a then-record club crowd – Sydney team winning surprisingly easily, 51-38.

Yet if last night’s Phoenix side was concerned about facing a overwhelmingly partisan crowd, it wasn’t showing it as the players piled out of their mini-bus behind the SuperDome chatting amicably.

The Phoenix dominated the early part of the game against a faltering Swifts effort. Yet once the Swifts settled – particularly defenders Liz Ellis and Alison Broadbent – they began to claw back that lead. At quarter-time the home side were up by two.

The second quarter descended into a display of outstanding defence interfering with both sides’ occasionally faltering attack, although it was the Swifts who felt it worse. Cox and Jane Altschwager managed just a 62 per cent conversion rate for the quarter, 17 less than Sharelle McMahon and Eloise Southby. Despite that, the lead swapped four times, with the Phoenix taking a single goal lead into half-time, 23-22.

After that, they pulled away. As the three-quarter time clock struck, the Swifts trailed the reigning champions 37-31. Their shooting had only improved by five per cent – to 69 – not enough in a grand final. It wasn’t to change in the final quarter.

While she continued to be her composed self, Swifts coach Julie Fitzgerald’s face and lowered shoulders as she glanced at the scoreboard with four minutes left suggested she knew the title wouldn’t be coming to Sydney.

The lead didn’t stop McMahon continuing to give all who crossed her – including her own teammates – ice-cold stares that gave away just how much she wanted the win. And despite a mini-comeback by the Swifts near the end, they didn’t have enough of the McMahon mongrel to do it.

[Ian Harkin]

#1318326

ALSO IN 2003…

After the Ravens were replaced in 2002, it was the Sydney Sandpipers whose time ran out just before the end of the 2003 competition.

.

END OF THE ROAD FOR SYDNEY SANDPIPERS
The Age
August 19, 2003

The National Netball League has had the first major financial casualty of its seven-year existence, with the Sydney Sandpipers to be withdrawn from the Commonwealth Bank Trophy after next weekend’s final home-and-away round.

One of seven surviving foundation teams, the Sandpipers will follow the Adelaide Ravens – who were reluctantly replaced by a new team, the AIS Canberra Darters, this season – out of existence, after Netball NSW announced it was unable to support a second Sydney-based team.

The Sydney Swifts are the reigning premiers and one of only two franchises in the competition to attract a naming-rights sponsor this year. The Commonwealth Bank recently renewed its major sponsorship of the league, but corporate dollars have proved far more elusive at club level, despite the record crowd of 10,000 that attended a Sydney double-header in May.

Netball NSW has applied to replace the Sandpipers with a new team based outside the Sydney metropolitan area, but expressions of interest have also been sought from the remaining state and territory associations and must be received by Netball Australia by Friday. South Australia, now represented only by the Thunderbirds, is likely to seek the reinstatement of a second team in Adelaide.

[Ian Harkin]

#1318329

In 2004, the Newcastle-based Hunter Jaegers entered the competition, as the replacement for the Sydney Sandpipers.

.

2004 COMMONWEALTH BANK TROPHY

Round 1
Jaegers 59 v Firebirds 52
Thunderbirds 40 v Swifts 56
Phoenix 73 v Darters 36
Kestrels 51 v Orioles 35

Round 2
Swifts 56 v Jaegers 45
Orioles 38 v Darters 43
Firebirds 44 v Phoenix 67
Kestrels 31 v Thunderbirds 62

Round 3
Darters 43 v Kestrels 44
Thunderbirds 59 v Firebirds 42
Phoenix 69 v Jaegers 35
Swifts 76 v Orioles 32

Round 4
Phoenix 46 v Kestrels 51
Swifts 72 v Firebirds 36
Thunderbirds 68 v Darters 39
Jaegers 48 v Orioles 38

Round 5
Firebirds 49 v Kestrels 56
Darters 40 v Swifts 72
Jaegers 39 v Thunderbirds 51
Orioles 40 v Phoenix 66

Round 6
Jaegers 50 v Darters 48
Thunderbirds 64 v Phoenix 53
Kestrels 37 v Swifts 58
Orioles 47 v Firebirds 37

Round 7
Thunderbirds 63 v Orioles 43
Firebirds 47 v Darters 61
Kestrels 49 v Jaegers 42
Phoenix 46 v Swifts 63

Round 8
Swifts 42 v Thunderbirds 48
Orioles 37 v Kestrels 53
Darters 58 v Phoenix 67
Firebirds 42 v Jaegers 41

Round 9
Phoenix 70 v Orioles 44
Kestrels 61 v Firebirds 48
Thunderbirds 60 v Jaegers 42
Swifts 66 v Darters 50

Round 10
Firebirds 45 v Swifts 70
Orioles 38 v Jaegers 52
Darters 45 v Thunderbirds 60
Kestrels 41 v Phoenix 52

Round 11
Jaegers 35 v Swifts 66
Thunderbirds 61 v Kestrels 56
Darters 50 v Orioles 47
Phoenix 78 v Firebirds 34

Round 12
Firebirds 41 v Orioles 53
Phoenix 49 v Thunderbirds 59
Darters 56 v Jaegers 44
Swifts 58 v Kestrels 43

Round 13
Jaegers 42 v Kestrels 44
Swifts 47 v Phoenix 48
Darters 55 v Firebirds 56
Orioles 38 v Thunderbirds 49

Round 14
Jaegers 43 v Phoenix 51
Kestrels 56 v Darters 55
Orioles 33 v Swifts 53
Firebirds 55 v Thunderbirds 53

.

LADDER

TEAM . . . . . P . . W . . L . . D . . . F . . . A . . . .+/- . . . . % . . . . Pts
SWIFTS .. .. 14 . .12 . . 2 . . 0 . . 842 . . 578 . .+264 . . 145.67 . . 24
T’BIRDS .. .. 14 . .12 . . 2 . . 0 . . 798 . . 630 . .+168 . . 126.67 . . 24
PHOENIX .. 14 . .10 . . 4 . . 0 . . 835 . . 659 . .+176 . . 126.71 . . 20
KESTRELS . 14 . .. 9 . . 5 . . 0 . . 673 . . 688 . . . -15 . . . 97.82 . . 18
—
DARTERS .. 14 . .. 4 . 10 . . 0 . . 679 . . 788 . . -110 . . . 86.16 . . . 8
JAEGERS … 14 . .. 4 . 10 . . 0 . . 617 . . 720 . . -103 . . . 85.69 . . . 8
FIREBIRDS. 14 . .. 3 . 11 . . 0 . . 628 . . 819 . . -191 . . . 76.68 . . . 6
ORIOLES … 14 . .. 2 . 12 . . 0 . . 543 . . 792 . . -249 . . . 68.56 . . . 4

[Ian Harkin]

#1318330

MAJOR SEMI FINAL – SWIFTS v THUNDERBIRDS
Superdome, Sydney

SWIFTS WON 49-43
(14-13, 27-22, 37-33 49-43)

SWIFTS:
GS . Cox
GA . Anderson
WA . Barrett
C .. Green
WD . Gilsenan
GD . Broadbent
GK . Ellis

Changes:
Unknown

Shooting:
Cox 34/41 (83%)
Anderson 15/17 (88%)
TOTAL 49/58 (84%)

THUNDERBIRDS:
GS . Heinrich
GA . Medhurst
WA . L.von Bertouch
C .. N.von Bertouch
WD . Scholz
GD . Fellowes
GK . Smith

Changes:
Unknown

Shooting:
Heinrich 23/28 (82%)
Medhurst 20/24 (83%)
TOTAL 43/52 (83%)

Umpires: Clare McCabe, Deb Farrelly

[Ian Harkin]

#1318331

MINOR SEMI FINAL – PHOENIX v KESTRELS
State Netball Hockey Centre, Melbourne

PHOENIX WON 49-42
(13-12, 27-20, 40-30, 49-42)

PHOENIX:
GS . Southby-Halbish
GA . McMahon
WA . Jacobsen
C .. Meaney
WD . Chokljat
GD . Prendergast
GK . Chatfield

Changes:
3rd Q – Dick C (Jacobsen), Meaney to WA.

Shooting:
McMahon 27/39 (71%)
Southby-Halbish 22/27 (81%)
TOTAL 49/65 (75%0

KESTRELS:
GS . Neele
GA . Booth
WA . Waller
C .. van Rensberg
WD . van Alphen
GD . Strachan
GK . Ilitch

Changes:
Unknown

Shooting:
Neele 28/38 (74%)
Booth 10/14 (71%)
Burton 4/6 (67%)
TOTAL 42/58 (72%)

Umpires: Stacey Campton, Nikki Boyd

[Ian Harkin]

#1318332

PRELIMINARY FINAL – THUNDERBIRDS v PHOENIX
ETSA Park, Adelaide

PHOENIX WON 57-43
(9-15, 18-29, 31-42 43-57)

THUNDERBIRDS:
GS . Heinrich
GA . Medhurst
WA . L.von Bertouch
C .. N.von Bertouch
WD . Scholz
GD . Fellowes
GK . Smith

Changes:
Unknown

Shooting:
Heinrich 29/35 (83%)
Medhurst 14/18 (78%)
TOTAL 43/53 (81%)

PHOENIX:
GS . Southby-Halbish
GA . McMahon
WA . Jacobsen
C .. Meaney
WD . Chokljat
GD . Prendergast
GK . Chatfield

Changes:
3rd Q – Dick C (Jacobsen), Meaney to WA.

Shooting:
Southby-Halbish 29/38 (76%)
McMahon 28/34 (82%)
TOTAL 57/72 (79%)

Umpires: Stacey Campton, Clare McCabe

[Author]

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